Clockwork Hearts
by Seraphic Melody
Summary: Everything in Wonderland works like clockwork - proceeding in a perfect, unperturbed tempo. What would happen when this ticking clock was ever disturbed? Life in Wonderland would never be the same... Ace x Faceless OC
1. Preface

**Disclaimer;** In a world beyond my imagination, I do not own Heart no Kuni no Alice or any of its bishies.

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**Clockwork Hearts**

**Preface**

The air was rank with the overwhelming scent of death and blood. Bodies were splayed haphazardly across the floor. Some lay prostrate over their own blossoming pools of blood. Others had heads detached from their bodies.

Most would cringe at the disconcerting massacre, cower away from the encompassing carnage.

He considered himself the exception. He lay perfectly content standing in the middle of the bloodbath. He had long hardened his clock heart, making him almost immune to the bloodshed. After all, he had been the one who had caused such a bloodbath.

His scarlet orbs, hidden behind the protective cover of his mask, lay fixated on one sole figure, the only other living figure in this whole room.

The man followed the girl's gaze down towards the fading form of one dead body. Shadows of the incoming night seemed to swallow the body up before making it completely disappear from sight. Lying in place of the body was a single clock. Its glass face was shattered into small fragments. Its metal arms were broken and bent.

The young girl slowly cradled it gently in her hands, allowing her long locks to shield her face from his stare.

"Can you give me that?"

The girl froze in her place, refusing to acknowledge the man's presence, refusing to face the man that killed a person she held so very dear.

"I don't think you heard me." A low gasp escaped from her lips, seeing the assailant appear directly before her. With a dark smile on his face, he repeated, "Can you please give me that?"

Upon hearing his request, the girl lifted her eyes to meet his scarlet orbs.

Or at least what should have been her eyes.

Standing before him was a mere faceless girl. She was of no importance and usually wouldn't have garnered any interest in normal circumstances.

Perhaps it was because this was not a normal circumstance. No matter the reason, she had his undivided attention.

Even without eyes, he could still feel it, feel her emotions exuding from her being with such a corporeal intensity. Anger and hatred burned her cheeks, contorting her features into a vicious scowl.

But the emotion that truly acquired his attention?

Tears of inexplicable despair drenched her visage, rolling down in hot rivulets down her cheeks.

He never thought it possible. A faceless person? Crying? Where did those tears come from? She shouldn't be able to cry without tear ducts. He just could not wrap his brain around it, but there was no way denying it. She was crying right before him, indignation radiating her diminutive person.

Then his gaze watched her arms outstretch to the side, holding the clock tightly between her shaking fist. Her intent needn't be spoken; he completely understood.

"Oh, no! I wouldn't do that if I were you!" In response, he lifted his bloodied sword, its sharp point barely touching her chest. "…Unless you have a death wish."

The girl did not flinch at his threat, not even at the thought that he would kill her without absolutely no hesitation. In fact, her reaction almost disturbed him.

The faceless girl laughed and smiled. "What's the difference if I'm dead? I am only one faceless person, a person so insignificant in this crazy, violent game… perhaps not as insignificant as you."

"What do you mean by that?" the scarlet-eyed man questioned, his stance unwavering.

"Isn't it obvious? You don't think everyone is blind, do you? We have a sense of who you are, role holder. We all can sense your importance, your nearly invaluable sense of worth… is that why you garb yourself in that ridiculous attire? Do you truly hate your role so much you would resort in participating in such menial affairs? Do you really think that's enough for you to be relieved? Don't make me laugh." The girl winced, feeling steel pierce the first layer of skin, allowing a steady stream of blood to rise up and flow down her chest. That did not deter her train of thought. She continued without hesitation or deterrence. "Face it, knight. You're more pathetic than I am. You don't even understand who you truly are."

"Oh, and you do?" he challenged, his veneer melting into general stoicism.

She smiled. "I know myself enough to know what I stand for, who I fight for. I know myself enough to know how to keep my promises, knight… and know when I've got nothing to lose."

Just when the clock crashed down onto the floor with a devastating shatter, the girl's vision fell into a deep darkness. She barely felt it. It all went by so quick for her to actually experience any pain. Everything gave way to a cold numbness when the red knight struck her in her heart.

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**A/N Notes:** New story idea that has been racking my brain. I've got quite a bit planned for this. Because this is only the preface, this chapter is not that long. Keep it in the back of your minds when reading (or when I actually get updating).

Thanks for reading~


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Life in Wonderland was almost analogous to the clock. Everything worked in a predictable precision, ticking at a predictable, stable pace. Rules were followed without question, and all were forced to obey them.

Yes, life worked in this precise synchronization, thrumming along in a slow, stable rhythm.

Ace simply **hated** it. Ace hated these constrictions, this monotonous tempo he's forced to follow, especially since he was a role holder. That simple title of knight had to be greatest and most binding imprisonment of all.

What he wouldn't give to be free of it all and live things the way he wanted to. Not because his role demands it.

That's probably why he worked for Julius. It was the only thing that he controlled, and the only thing that he hoped would grant him his freedom. He never stopped working there, despite the futility of it all. He probably would never be free.

So far, it seemed Ace was to remain condemned to this life, remaining prisoner to the monotonous ticking of his own clock.

"Looks like I finally made it!" Ace noted rather cheerfully, exiting the forest depths. The afternoon sun was still a warm, golden ball, slowly deepening into dark orange as it dipped off over the horizon.

At this time, he expected the Queen of Hearts to be enjoying her customary afternoon tea.

Like always.

Ace released a low sigh, scarlet orbs fixated on the floor as he walked into the castle courtyard. It's always the same old thing. Sure, it wasn't all that bad lately. Alice's appearance had made life in the Castle a little more interesting. He had never seen the stoical White Rabbit so cheerful and happy before, and he was entertaining to watch at times.

But Ace had quickly grown used to this new Peter, tolerating his overly jubilant demeanor with, perhaps, even more patience than he expected necessary. Castle-life had eventually melted into the monotony of this existence, continuing on like unperturbed clockwork despite the tiny disruption of an outsider's presence.

'_What I wouldn't give for something different for a change..._'

"Master Ace?"

Ace perked up, lazily raising his gaze to a faceless servant. She was no one of interest, just another average looking female. Then again, he supposed all the maids were average looking. They all looked the same to him after all.

He arched a brow in question. "What's up?"

"Her majesty has been looking all over for you! She requests your presence in the throne room. There's a meeting going on amongst Heart role holders."

Such a statement caught him by surprise. "Really? Now?"

The young maid nodded her head. "Yes. Now, Master Ace. The queen doesn't like waiting."

'_Because if she has to wait, heads will roll..._' But Ace decided to humor the old bat, considering she offered him something so astounding. What was this meeting about? What in the world could be more important than Vivaldi's cup of tea? The knight was dying to know.

Ace curved his lips into his customary grin and nodded his head.

"Alright. Please follow me then."

The Knight of Hearts then obediently followed the maid towards the Castle.

~(o)~

The moment Ace entered the throne room, he was greeted with the strident screeches of this territory's most esteemed leader.

"You are mad!" The regal Queen of Hearts, Vivaldi, shouted from her seat, violet irises narrowed into a sneer at the King of Hearts.

"I don't see what's so wrong with it, Vivaldi," calmly refuted the king, his expression placid and serene, a stark contrast to Vivaldi's expression of unadulterated exasperation.

"Are you listening to yourself? You are simply bonkers." Vivaldi turned towards the castle's Prime Minister, Peter White, who stood off to the side of the whole argument with minimal interest. "Peter, tell his majesty he is insane."

Peter scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "My stance remains the same, Vivaldi - **I don't care.** Even if I did, I honestly don't see much of a problem with this."

Vivaldi barely repressed a disgruntled groan, lazily running a tired hand through her dark curls. "You _both_ must have lost your minds..."

Ace finally decided to speak up. "Hey, what's up with you guys? What's going on here?"

At the sound of the knight's voice, the congregation of three slowly turned their heads towards him, watching as he advanced forward with a light, relaxed stride.

Vivaldi stated without any embellishment, "Ace, you're late. We thought We requested your presence earlier."

The brown-haired male nervously rubbed the back of his head and said with an apologetic smile, "Ha ha... What can I say? I got lost?"

Vivaldi straightened her posture, radiating with silent disapproval. "Well, now that you are here, perhaps you could help resolve a problem We are having."

"But we are not-"

"Silence!" Seeing the king placated himself and was not planning on muttering another word anytime soon, Vivaldi continued. "Ace, please tell the king he is a complete and utter lunatic."

"Whoa, he was bonkers and now a lunatic? What's wrong? Did you finally make him lose his sanity?" teased the Knight with silly grin on his face.

"No, We did not," she sternly chastised him, shards of amethyst ready to puncture through him. "Please explain the situation, your majesty."

"But it's not..." The king sighed in defeat. "I was just telling Vivaldi it would be nice to have an extra hand around here in the castle."

"So he plucked some random faceless urchin off the streets and brought her here to the castle! How insane is this man? Tell him, Ace!"

The king shrugged his tired shoulders while Peter rolled his eyes. Though the epitome of elegance and grace, those who were closer to the young woman could agree on one thing: she could be such a drama queen.

"I actually don't think it's all that bad! The only one who seems crazy here is you, Vivaldi," Ace stated cheerfully. Vivaldi responded with a withering glare.

"Perhaps I can introduce the girl right now? She's such a sweet little thing and promises to work very hard." Once Vivaldi bobbed her head in a submissive nod, the King went to his feet and off towards the door. "My dear, can you please come out? Everyone would like to meet you!"

Ace waited with patient impassivity, staring idly at the ceiling. This had to be the most boring assembly they ever had. Vivaldi's histrionics were amusing and all, but really? In his eyes, this was completely not worth missing her necessary tea for or wasting their time. '_No one wants to deal with cranky Vivaldi when she doesn't get her tea..._'

"Well. Here she is."

Then everything fell completely silent. There was not a single breath, any denotations of repulse, apathy, approval... or life even.

Ace's ruby eyes descended and refocused on the group before him. He felt his curiosity pique. She was just a girl, faceless as all those without a role are.

Perhaps it was his colleagues' reactions that caught his attention.

King remained cheerfully calm while Peter regarded the girl with mild interest, white brow raised when he glanced over to their queen.

Vivaldi's orbs were large and wide, swirling with so much emotion - shock, surprise... familiarity? No, that last one was just Ace's imagination. Her eyes then narrowed, her veneer as a blank as a slate, but orbs alight with some sort of burning irritation.

Ace turned his head and took the time to really look at the girl.

He felt himself fall completely still.

'_She's just an average girl. Faceless like all the rest of them..._'

Still Ace could not help, but stare. What was there to stare at? She was probably average in his eyes. Average, slender body shape, average, long, dark hair... Then again, if she was so average, why was he still staring at her?

'_There's actually something... Familiar about her._' That was the issue that truly garnered his undivided attention. For some unfathomable reason, the girl struck a cord of familiarity. How could that be? All faceless people looked the same. All were equally forgettable in his mind.

Why did this one still look like he had seen her before?

"No. Absolutely not." The strident, feminine voice was enough to snap himself out of his reverie. Ace glanced back over to Vivaldi, her expression hard and unmoving like pristine marble. "We don't need another faceless maid here."

"She's not just another faceless worker," insisted the king, gesturing to the young girl. Her eyes - or at least where her eyes should have been - were transfixed on the smooth, cold floorings. Her expression remained perfectly blank, betraying not even an iota of emotion. "She promises to be a hard worker and to be an excellent addition to us."

"Since when do you decide who should work for us? We declare a vote! We vote against hiring her," she primly stated, frilly arms adamantly intertwining over her chest.

"Well, I vote otherwise and say she does join us," refuted the king. The two Heart nobles turned towards the Prime Minister, awaiting his response.

"You two decide what you want and leave me out of it. I already told you that I don't care," replied Peter, waltzing towards the door. "If you excuse me, I have work to do."

"Oh, does your work involve stalking Alice?" Ace called out cheerfully.

Peter tensed for a millisecond and toyed with the large pocket watch slung over his body before storming out. Ace repressed a low laugh, amused by such a simple reaction. Peter's buttons were so easy to push. He then glanced over to his two superiors.

Both of them were eying him with a glimmer of expectation, though one pair sparkled more fiercely than the other.

"What? Is there something on my face?" wondered Ace aloud, running his gloved hand over his chin and the corners of his mouth.

"No, you buffoon," Vivaldi said with a scowl over her lips. "You must answer and decide this trivial argument. Should we keep the girl or not?"

Ace studied Vivaldi's stern features with his usual cheer, finding himself pleasantly amused by the impatience in her face. Oh, how mad would she be if he sided against her! Her expression would be priceless!

He then casted his red orbs to the king. Unlike his female partner, he remained completely relaxed... so unperturbed that Ace would have almost thought he already knew the outcome. That he was confident he'd win this.

'_So he really wants her working here?_' There had to be a reason why the king would risk an arm and a leg to try to get Vivaldi to agree. '_To think, I once thought this day was going to be dull..._'

If one girl could make such a splash on one day, how interesting would the castle be if she honestly did work here? He doubted the novelty of her presence would last very long, but hey. It would help release them from the tedium, even if it was only temporary.

With a wide smile on his face, Ace said, "I don't see a problem with her staying and working here!"

The king's lips quirked to a tiny, victorious grin, his frame relaxing. Vivaldi remained perfectly still, cheeks slightly puffed in silent outrage.

She curtly released a breath of air. "Fine. We see how it is. The girl's hired then. She better be worth it though."

"Oh, I believe it will all be worth it in the end," beamed the king.

"Then go on! Get the girl dressed! She's starting immediately." The Heart Queen swiftly rose to her feet and smoothed down her skirt with a curt, irritated pat. "Now, if you'll excuse Us, We'll be having Our tea now before it gets too dark."

Then with such a gracile speed belonging only to her, Queen Vivaldi stormed out of the premises, her lips containing a ghost of a pout. Ace smirked in amusement and turned to face the remaining congregation. To his surprise, the girl had disappeared from sight.

"Hey, king, where-"

"I directed her off to be fitted for her uniform," replied the king, his mouth curved into a relaxed and gentle smile. "Rather surprising that Vivaldi conceded, no? Our queen was never one to be so submissive."

"Yeah! I was expecting to hear her rave, rant, and chop someone's head off!" The king chuckled at Ace's comment. "So if you don't mind me asking, your majesty. I've got to ask. Why did you bring her along?"

"Isn't obvious? We need more dedicated workers! She looked like she needed a job, so I wanted to hire her."

"But there's more to it, isn't there?" pressed Ace, his arms intertwining over his broad chest. "There has to be another reason why you brought her here."

The king remained perfectly silent, the smooth, aged planes of his face unmoving and calm. His lips were etched into a tiny, customary grin.

"So? Do you plan on telling me?"

All there was complete silence. Ace awaited rather patiently as the noble considered his inquiry, pondering answer after answer in his mind, testing each with unusual scrupulousness. He then shrugged and patted Ace's shoulder as he began heading out the door. "I suppose it's better if you found out yourself, Ace. Everything then will make a little more sense to you."

Ace was rendered speechless, watching in fascination as the king walked away, his royal cape whipping behind him.

He had never knew the king was capable of something like this. Since when was he so cryptic and able to puzzle him so? Since when did the King of Hearts blatantly avoid answering a question? He was always the wallflower in the throne room, quiet and invisible to most. Perhaps there was even more to him than meets the eye...

'_Well, my questions aren't going to get answered if I just stand in here._' Ace then strode out the empty throne room, collecting his erratic thoughts. If he was to calm this mystified storm in his mind, he needed to address the problem by its source.

He had to talk to the girl himself.

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A/N Notes: Eh, nothing really to say. At the moment. The girl will be introduced in the next chapter though. :]

Thanks for reading~


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

First impressions were everything. When one was vying for a job, one must be at their top behavior, perfect manners and appearance.

Her first impression? She never realized she was already assessed long before she entered the room. She worked so hard to have nice appearance - clothes neat and tidy and she attempted to tame this long, wild black mass she had misfortune to call hair.

It seemed no matter how hard she tried, nothing would have spared her from the queen's fervent disapproval.

She did nothing wrong! Heavens, all she did, at the very least, was look at her... and instantly regretted it. Her majesty's expression was quite the opposite of inviting or friendly. At first, the atmosphere itself was merely uncomfortable, her appraising purple orbs assessing her appearance before gaping at her face. There was the initial shock then the queen's visage was overwhelmed by a silent rage. After that, the girl felt everything go downhill.

'_Is it against rules here to try to be courteous to the queen?_' After that incident, the king swiftly assured her that it was a common Vivaldi reaction, but she just wasn't sure.

Why did Vivaldi already seemed to hate her so?

'_Maybe I'm over thinking these things. I still got the job after all. It's too early to pass any judgment._'

Besides, she needed this job. Even though her mother and she certainly weren't as impoverished as some faceless people, she wanted to make it on her own. She wanted to save enough money for her greatest aspiration.

Her elder sister was able to do it. Why couldn't she?

"Myrina..." A wistful smile danced over her lips at the thought of her sibling, of how she wanted to be just like her. Strong, independent... far, far away from here...

'_And I'll keep getting further and further away from my goal if I don't find my way soon._'

A tiny nerve of irritation pulsated from her temple. She slowly ground her teeth the longer she walked around the castle hallways. The king's directions couldn't be anymore plain, but still she found herself completely lost.

'_To think, I once thought my sense of direction was rather decent._'

She released a disgruntled sigh, lazily turning her head all around her surroundings. She hoped that she would find something that would guide her towards the correct direction. Even a blinking sign nearly screaming 'Enter Here!' would have been great. Of course, that seemed like it wasn't going to happen, but a girl could dream.

A low cough ripped through her lungs, aching her throat with its usual sting. Her chest clenched, burning her insides with a smoldering pain. She needed to take her medicine, but she didn't want to take it here in the open. That would just supply another reason for her to get kicked out. She needed to find that room before it gets any worse.

'_Maybe I'll see another servant. Then I will have some help._' There seemed a greater likelihood she would see a maid or a card soldier anyway. There was probably an innumerable amount of them working here, perhaps some working as replacements when Vivaldi ordered an unfortunate handful to be executed.

The chances of meeting of one of Vivaldi's role holding subordinates?

One in a million.

"Hi there!"

The faceless girl jumped at the sudden emergence of the young man. He had a scruffy mop of brown hair, and his lips were curved into such a mouth-achingly wide grin. What really caught her attention were his eyes - those bright red eyes. Eyes she could never have. Her heart clenched at the thought, forcing it to escape from her mind.

"...hello?" she replied guardedly, staring the frighteningly cheerful man with wary eyes.

"So you're the new girl, right?" She slowly nodded her head. "Welcome then! Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Ace, the Knight of Hearts."

The girl barely repressed a low scoff. Of course she recognized him; everyone knew who the role holders were. Such an introduction was superfluous.

Suppressing another low cough, she brusquely said, "Alright. Nice meeting you." The dark-haired girl then attempted to sidestep him, but he followed her with ease.

"Someone seems to be in a rush." Ace inclined his head slightly, amusement dancing over his crimson orbs. "To think I thought you were lost and wanted to come to your rescue."

If she had eyes, she would have definitely rolled them at the moment. She retorted with evident sarcasm, "Gee, what a gentleman! Well, I'll have you know that I'm not lost. Now get out of my way please. I have places to go, rooms to find."

The faceless girl started to run around his other side, but the infuriating man followed her, anticipating her movements with such a grin on his face.

"Ah-hah! There's no way you can deny it. You are lost! To think, I thought I was the only one with a terrible sense of direction..."

"If that's true, perhaps you should step aside. I'll figure out where I need to go," she stated adamantly, her expression hard and irritated.

Ace seemed not to notice the ire in her words, or at least pretended to. He suggested, "Hey, you know, I can help! I can totally tell you were you need to go!"

The girl before him crossed her arms over her chest, indulging him by saying, "Really? Didn't you say you're directional skills were terrible?"

"But I'm not that bad while here in the castle! Come on. It's this way."

Confident in his words and his guiding abilities, Ace began walking down the opposite direction of the hall.

"Do you know where I need to go?" She asked after a moment.

"Yep! The king told me you need to get fitted for your uniform!"

"Ah. Alright." The young girl watched with increasing bemusement as Ace strode forward, whistling a cheerful tune. "...You do know that way leads to entrance to the castle, right?"

The red knight paused for a moment, slowly rotating his head back towards her. "Huh? How do you know?"

"I somehow ended up there earlier and just trying this way now."

Ace considered her statement for a long moment, mulling over something in his mind. He rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Ah... Maybe it _is_ the other way after all..."

The girl released an exasperated groan and began to walk away. "Just leave me alone already. You're wasting my time."

She hoped with all her clock heart that the knight would just get the picture and leave her be. Of course, she had never met anyone quite like him before. Men like Ace were known for being persistent... as well as thickheaded.

"Hey, wait up!"

The girl completely ignored him, pretending the annoying knight was not there walking beside her. She had to concentrate on happy thoughts. Yes, focus her thoughts on the more pleasant aspects of the day, and not the man beside her. The weather was fairly decent. She had a job. That was certainly an upside, right? She was still alive and still had her head attached to her body. That's a huge plus right there.

"Hey, what's your name?" The faceless girl winced at the sound of his voice, but feigned ignorance.

'_Just keep walking... Just keep on walking..._'

"Hey, did you hear me?" She immediately leapt away, cringing at the uncomfortable proximity with the knight.

"Do you have any notion what personal space is?" She shouted, cheeks burning at the embarrassing closeness.

"Well, I was just asking a question. Didn't mean to burst your bubble," Ace said rather apologetically, gently scratching his chin.

"Well couldn't you tell I wasn't planning on answering?"

The brown-haired knight tilted his head in confusion, brows knitting together. "You have a name, don't you?"

"I don't want to answer you! Can't you understand that?"

"Why not?"

A tired hand ran through her long locks, resisting the fervent need to shake some sense into him. "Why do you even want to know? There's no point in you knowing. It's not like you'll even remember."

Ace pouted his lips, blatantly offended by such implications. "That's rude to say. How do you know that?"

"Do you know the names of other maids and soldiers?"

"There was never a reason for me to know it." The knight then fell silent. The girl shot him a pointed look before continuing forward. "Well, I told you my name. It would only be fair and polite if you told me yours."

"Since when is the world fair and polite?" She replied harshly, her gaze firmly set on the path before her. "There's no real point for you to know it, knight. Why burden your role-holding mind with the insignificance that is my name? I'm just a nobody in comparison to you. Why does it matter?"

The Heart role holder was unsure how to respond, speechless as he studied the girl. Her features remained stoical and completely serious.

Before either she or Ace could continue with the conversation, a short-haired maid appeared before her, short of breath as a result of scrambling all around the castle.

"Oh, miss! You're the new maid, correct?" The young girl nodded her head. "His majesty sent me to look for you because he heard you got lost. Please follow me."

Without any protests, the faceless girl separated herself from the knight with joy and followed the maid off and away from Ace.

~(o)~

Cynical. Fatalistic. Moody... Certainly not as quiet and demure as Ace once expected her to be or quite like the other maids in the castle.

It was a pleasant surprise to say the least. The new girl certainly proved she was completely different from the other maids.

'_Very interesting..._' That may be one reason why he kept pestering her about her name.

No matter what the new, little maid did - yell at him or completely ignore him - Ace didn't give up.

But the girl was stubborn as he was persistent.

The red knight sighed at the very thought. Why was it such a big deal? Why can't she just give him her name? It wasn't that hard to do. Then he would leave her alone... for a little while.

'_Why is she making such a big deal out of it anyway? It's just a name…_' The knight then released a languorous sigh, watching the fire cast shadows over the floor. Ace surely was not the kind of man who gives up, but how this situation is going? It never seemed more dismal.

"Ace? What on earth do you think you're doing?" At the sound of his name, the young knight turned his gaze upwards. The king gazed down at his seated form, his expression curious.

Ace smiled. "Oh, I just got lost so I started camping!"

The king raised a dubious brow. "Really? So why did you set up camp in the middle of the hallway? You're still inside the castle."

"Well, where else would I sleep? I can't find my room!"

The king opened his mouth to retort, but instead clamped it shut, releasing only loud sigh. Ace returned his gaze back to the fire, expecting the conversation to be over. It was rare enough that he even exchanged a few passing words with his majesty. He expected the king to leave him to his unusual business and onto whatever it is the king did, which, Ace thought, wasn't much.

Instead, his next course of action was completely uncharacteristic of him. The king settled himself right beside him, his closed eyes transfixed on the crackling fire. Ace tried his hardest not to gawk at his superior and wonder what on earth had gotten into him. Did Ace do something wrong?

"The reason why I'm still here" – Ace jumped at the sound of the king's voice, partially alarmed to hear the man speak at all – "Is because I wanted to talk to you about our new maid."

Ace blinked. "The new girl?"

"Who else? I'm just checking on her performance and hearing what other people think of her. As your luck shall have it, I'm going to ask you." He turned his face towards the young man, his expression cheerfully unreadable. "What do _you_ think?"

Ace meditated the question for a singular moment. "Well… she's different from the other ones we usually get... incredibly moody as well."

Now it was the king's turn to be confused. "Moody?"

"Yeah! I'm just asking her about her name, and the girl flips out on me! Does she even have one?"

"Oh, I promise you, she has one!" chuckled the king.

"Then I don't know why she's making such a big deal about telling me. It's only a name…" Ace said in a tone the king would have almost categorized as whining.

The king then queried, "So… that must mean you don't think she's that bad?"

Ace then absently replied, "A grumpy, temperamental maid, but a competent worker nonetheless."

"Huh. I see..." The king nodded his head in consideration, mulling over the knight's words in his mind. The knight thought it was just his tired mindset getting to him, but he almost thought the king was smiling at his response.

"Scarlet." The young knight snapped his head towards his superior, a look of inquisition besieging his scarlet orbs. "Well, you wanted to know her name, right? Well, that's it. Scarlet."

Ace repeated the name quietly under his breath, testing the name on his tongue.

The king gradually rose to his feet, stretching his sore leg muscles. "Now, I suppose I should get going now! Got a lot to do. Thank you, Ace!"

As the male noble began walking down towards the hallway, the brown-haired male called out, "Wait! Your majesty, why did you tell me her name? I could have gotten it out of her eventually."

The older male paused and released a tiny burst of laughter, nodding his head in acknowledgement. "Oh yes! I'm sure you would have been able to wear _her_ down.," said the king with a hint of… sarcasm? Ace never knew he had it in him. "Consider it your reward for successfully completing my survey. Goodbye, Ace."

'_Wow! The king is full of surprises!_' thought Ace as he watched the nobleman wave goodbye and disappear from sight. '_Now's not the time to contemplate that discovery though._'

He gently rubbed his chin, mouthing the name once more. Scarlet. Such an unusual name befitting such an unusual girl. He leaned his head back onto the cold flooring and inwardly smiled to himself.

Tomorrow was certainly going to be an entertaining day, more so for him than her that was for certain.

~(o)~

A large, sharp knife glistened in the golden illumination, its blade casting a dangerous glow. Its tip was ready, poised to attack at a moments notice. Its target was so still, so defenseless, its soft pink flesh so exposed.

The blade finally rose up and rushed down in a large, swinging arc onto its target. Its delicate flesh broke open, split into two even halves. The stabber repeated the motion several times again, tearing its victim into hundreds of unrecognizable pieces.

"Um, Scarlet-chan? Are you sure you want to cut the food?" Her maid companion finally spoke up, slowly stirring the broth in a large, metal pot.

Scarlet sliced through the minced chunks of meat once more before turning her attention to her. "Of course, I'm certain! Why do you ask?"

The maid opened her mouth to reply, but gently sealed it shut. She glanced down at the poor, dead animal meat and sighed. "Just merely expressing my condolences for the deceased."

"But it was already dead," said a confused girl, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Never mind. I think that's just fine, Scarlet. Why don't you bring it over here? The beef for the stew was supposed to be chopped, not shredded."

Scarlet released a nervous laugh, quickly tossing the beef into the pot. She then plopped a tomato onto the cutting board. The maid watched in silent horror as she watched Scarlet gently pressed the tip of the knife of the blade through the fruit's flesh, allowing a steady stream of watery, red liquid to roll down its smooth, red surface.

The maid suddenly lost the will to stir. "Dear girl, I can't watch this any longer."

The dark-haired maid asked, "Watch what? I'm only cutting food like I'm supposed to."

"Exactly, and I never knew one could make cutting a tomato look like such a violent, illegal act. Are you secretly some sadistic sociopath or something because if you are, please inform me now?"

"Oh, I assure you I'm not!" she replied with such a cheerful smile on her face. "I'm merely expunging all my inner frustrations in the safest way possible!"

As she sliced through the tomato with such frightening force and fury, the maid began to think that it wasn't safe for their ingredients. "But why are you so frustrated? I thought you were adjusting quite well to Heart Castle."

Scarlet scowled, "It's just a certain, irritating someone refuses to leave me alone!"

The maid didn't have to interrogate the young girl to know who she was referring to. "Dear, Master Ace is not still bothering you, is he?"

"God dammit he is! He keeps harassing me over my godforsaken name! Such impudence, such petulance! He's so annoying!" Scarlet exclaimed furiously, releasing her wrath onto the tomato.

Her companion shrugged her shoulders, returning her attention to the stew. Scarlet had liberated her thoughts onto the Heart maid upon several occasions. She learned it was better to allow the young girl to rave as much as her heart desires rather than attempt at offering any words to placate her.

"I still think you are over exaggerating things. Ace is eccentric at times, but he is not that bad."

"To hell he is! I'm just not fooled by that phony innocence. That's all," Scarlet firmly stated, throwing the hashed tomato bits into the broth.

The maid rolled her invisible eyes. "Well, I'm going to look for some more seasoning salts. It seems we're out. Watch the soup while I'm gone?"

Scarlet limply nodded her head, commencing to start chopping once more. The maid plopped the spoon onto the counter and began walking off.

Out of all her duties in the castle, kitchen duty was Scarlet's favorite. It was the only place that provided an outlet. In the kitchen, there was no Vivaldi, no Peter…

'_And no Ace!_' To Scarlet, there was no place closer to heaven then the kitchen.

A pair of footsteps waltzed inside, pattering in unison to the sound of boiling water.

"Oh, back so soon?" said Scarlet, slowly turning her gaze away from her veggie victim. "That was rather fa-"

All words failed her when she was met with a figure with two bright red orbs. The young maid squeaked in surprise and pressed her back into the counter. "Knight, what are you doing here?"

"Oh… this isn't the dining room?" Ace said, casting his eyes around his general surroundings. "Oops! My bad! It appears I got lost!"

Waves of irritation flowed into her mind as she swiftly turned her back, resuming her chopping duties and ignoring his overall presence. "Well, why don't you get lost right now? You're not supposed to be here. I'm busy."

Even though her back was to him, she could feel his lips upturn into a wide smile. "Oh, what's the rush… _Scarlet_."

She fell completely still. '_What the-?_'

He did not just say it. He _did not_ just say it.

Scarlet whirled around and unconsciously waved her knife at him. "How did you learn that name, knight?"

"Watch were you're swinging that! You could hit me!" Ace exclaimed, taking a tentative step away from her.

"I hope I do! Now will you answer me?"

Ace cheerfully supplied that he utilized his fantastic sleuthing skills and tapped into his mysterious sources. How Scarlet wish she had eyes… she would love to roll them at the moment. Before she could open her mouth to retort, loud, popping noises caught her attention, followed by a sudden pillar of white steam.

"The stew!" Scarlet dashed over and lowered the heat, careful to stir the pot's contents without burning herself. She exhaled a sigh of relief, thankful that the pot's contents were unharmed. "Well, whoop-dee-doo. You know my name. Would you like a gold star or something?"

Ace shook his brown head. "Nope! I believe your frazzled reaction is worth more than a silly, little sticker."

"I am not frazzled!" She shouted louder than necessary. Scowling at Ace's cheerful expression, she cleared her throat and added calmly, "I'm more so irritated than anything."

"Irritated, huh? You know, psychologists have something to say about that kind of hostility and irritation!"

Scarlet regarded him in curiosity, slowly stirring the stew with the knife in hand. "Really? What _do_ they say, knight?"

Ace grinned even wider and edged towards her. "That irritation and hostility are simply sublimated sexual attraction."

She nearly toppled over at such an unexpected statement, clasping onto the counter to retain her balance. Her cheeks heated up. "W…**what**? Are you serious?"

The brown-haired knight chuckled as he took another step towards her. "Nope! I was just kidding… but it seems like I hit a nerve. Perhaps, I was right? Are you attracted to me?"

The knife dug into the cutting board. Nerves erupted all along her temples. She could not believe what she was hearing.

Waving the wooden spoon towards his head, she shouted, "Can you hear the nonsense you are spouting? I had never heard something so absurd! So far, the most feelings I have for you is hatred!"

"Well, there is a very thin line between love and hate… you're not getting a little confused are you?"

She knew Ace was only teasing her, pushing her buttons to see how she reacted… and unfortunately, those buttons just pushed her over the edge.

A loud crack reverberated in the stillness, creating a large, red mark on Ace's cheek. His scarlet eyes grew very wide, dazedly turning towards a very livid maid.

Tapping the spoon crossly against her palm, she fumed, "Do you want to try saying that again?"

Silence manifested itself and veiled the kitchen air. His face was generally unreadable. The knight gently rubbed his sore face whilst staring at the angry girl.

His mouth then quirked up into a smile and burst out laughing. "Wow! That kind of hurt. Maybe if you didn't have such weak, little arms then maybe you could actually inflict some real damage!"

Something within her cracked. She had officially lost her patience. "Now that is it! Why not you come here, and I'll show you how much damage I can do!"

Just as Scarlet swung at him, he gracefully evaded the assault and dashed outside the kitchen door.

"Hey! You, come back here! I'm not through with you, you stupid knight!" shouted Scarlet. She then released an irritated exhalation, brusquely pushing back an errant black strand of hair.

'_Stupid, idiotic fop… Wait until I get my hands on him…_'

~(o)~

The dining room was bright with golden illumination, pervading all throughout the room. The general stillness was disrupted by a rhythmic tapping noise.

"What is taking them so long? We are hungry," Vivaldi said irritably, lithe fingers tapping against the elegant tabletop.

"It will be done soon. Be patient," said her current sitting companion, the king. He sat rather good-naturedly across from her, hands folded neatly over the table. "But you are changing the subject. What is your answer?"

Vivaldi released a low scoff. "Isn't saying that _'it was the most foolish notion We ever heard of'_, enough for you?"

"I just simply would like a reason why not. The girl would make an excellent attendant," proposed the king.

"But not for Us. We will not have her as Our attendant," Vivaldi argued proudly, intertwining her arms over her chest. "And that's that."

The king released a tired sigh. Such adamancy against Scarlet was rather unfounded, in the king's opinion, but he did not press her any further. It wasn't worth the antagonism he was surely going to endure if he did.

"What about the Prime Minister? He could use some extra help," absently suggested Vivaldi.

The king shook his head. "I already asked. Peter refused. Besides, I didn't really think it was wise. He'd probably shoot her dead before she even has a chance to introduce herself."

"And that's a problem because…?" The king's sent her pointed glance, his lips forming a disapproving line. Vivaldi exhaled a curt breath. "Fine! I get it. So then, if you are so bent on assigning her such a job, then who in the world is left?"

The male Heart noble contemplated such an inquiry, rummaging through his brain for possible candidates.

"Hi, guys! So is the food here yet? I'm starving."

Both Heart nobles turned their heads towards the source of the noise. Violet eyes glittered and a grin spread over her lips. She glanced over to the king. "How about him? That knight definitely needs more guidance than the White Rabbit."

The king did not answer right away. He turned his attention to the two Heart maids as they sauntered into the room, wheeling a heart-shaped cart towards the three.

"Good afternoon, your majesties, Master Ace," greeted the short-haired woman, bowing reverently to the trio.

"We had finished preparing the meal, your graces, knight," politely said the newest addition to the staff, stopping the cart and bowing as well.

The king nodded to the two women as they busied themselves, grabbing bowls and placing them before the role holders.

"Master Peter is not joining us today for the meal?" asked the maid.

The knight answered, "Oh! I don't think so. I saw him heading out when I was wandering around the castle."

"Yes, wandering indeed…"

The king turned his gaze over to the young girl, seeing her face containing negligible wrinkles of irritation. Ace retained his usual jolly expression, chuckling at her behavior.

The nobleman turned his head to the young queen. She seemed fairly impassive to the display and feigned ignorance.

"Yum! It looks great!" exclaimed Ace, eagerly taking the spoon into his gloved hands and scooping a large amount into his mouth. The Heart King and Queen followed suit, taking a delicate swallow of the red broth.

The two maids stood patiently beside them, one with jovial optimism while the other watched in almost mischievous anticipation.

"Is it to your liking, your majesties?"

"Passable," was the Queen's succinct reply, spooning another to her delicate lips.

"Quite good actually. You two really did great," extolled the king.

The maid released a relieved sigh and smiled. Scarlet turned her gaze passed her two superiors and over to the knight, watching as he shoveled another generous helping into his ravenous mouth. Her lips upturned into a wide smile.

"How about you, knight? Not bad?"

"It's actually pretty good. Seriously, what did you –" Ace then paused. The spoon fell from his hand. His other hand flew to his lips as the color of scarlet blossomed over his cheeks.

"Oh dear! Sir Knight, why is your face so red?" gasped Scarlet, trying to futilely to wipe the smile off her face. The maid shot the new maid a suspicious look while the two nobles watched Ace in confusion. Despite the alarming color of his visage, Ace kept his cool, calmly reaching his hand out in the air. "Oh? Would you like something to drink? Oh, you should have just said something!"

As the loyal servant she was, Scarlet handed reddening Ace a cold glass of water. Ace promptly snatched it out of her hand and hastily emptied the contents into his mouth.

"Huh… it seems it _was_ chili powder that fell into one of the bowls. I was wondering what that was!" Scarlet gently smacked her head in realization and began to wheel the cart off. "Thank you so much for enlightening me, Sir Knight. Now, if you excuse me, I have a lot of work to do. Good day!"

"W… wait!" Seeing the young dark-haired girl rush out the door, the maid sighed, bowed, and ran after her.

Ace slowly wiped his lips with the back of his gloved hand and stood up. "I think I shall be making my leave as well. I have a word or two I would like to discuss with that girl." With his usual pleasant smile, Ace waved goodbye and sauntered out the door.

That had left two nobles alone, both equally dazed and confused. One had finally snapped out of his trance and said, "Well, I think we found ourselves a winner, don't you?"

The Queen chuckled and fervently nodded her head. "Oh yes! I knew he would be an excellent choice. If anyone could use more help, it would be him! They would simply be perfect for each other, considering how well they get along already!"

The king felt his lips twitch into a smile as he watched the young Queen of Hearts continued to laugh at the very thought of the arrangement. "Good… Good. I'm glad you think so."

* * *

A/N Note: Not much to say about this chapter... it's just nice to see that Scarlet and Ace are getting along so well already. lol

Thanks for reading~


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"So bored," Scarlet groaned while she sat herself against the castle wall, head resting against the hard surface.

How long had she been sitting there anyway? It felt like _ages_. She lazily rotated her head around the hallway. To her chagrin, everything was disconcertingly still, devoid of any signs of life. Such a sight caused the faceless maid to sink lower into the cold floor, allowing everything in her line of vision to melt into darkness.

Why was she sitting there like some bum in the first place? She had many other maid-related duties to attend to. She had very little patience to listen to Vivaldi's reprimand if the raven monarch saw her lazing about.

Then came a sense of clarity.

Everything came back to her. It all started because of the king.

~{o}~

Scarlet was in the middle of one of her maidly duties – cleaning up the guest rooms. The essence of the task didn't really bother her. She didn't mind cleaning by herself.

She just couldn't comprehend why she had to do it so many times.

'_To think, I'm not even a third of the way done._' Scarlet resisted the intrinsic need to groan as she stared at the nearly endless lines of rooms she was supposed to clean. She was never one to complain, but the tedium was seriously starting to get to her. '_Why do I even have to do this all by myself? Curse Vivaldi for bestowing such an unnecessary punishment…_'

But what could she do? She was only a mere servant. She couldn't complain unless she had a desire for her head to be chopped off. She's not _that_ foolish. Besides, there wasn't anyone around with enough time on their hands to even help or dump the rest of the work on. Scarlet just had to suck it up and just do it. All Scarlet could hope for, as she carted the cleaning equipment off towards the next room and released a deep, soul felt sigh, was a miracle.

"Hello there!" Scarlet paused in surprise, whipping her head towards the source of the voice.

"Oh, your majesty! I didn't see you there," said Scarlet politely, lowering her upper body into a bow in reverence to the Heart King. "Is there something you need?"

"Actually, yes. I was just looking for you." The king watched as a wave of confusion swept over her faceless countenance, and then added, "I have a job for you."

The young maid contritely said, "I humbly would accept the duty, but I still have to…"

The king promptly interrupted her. "I already spoke with Vivaldi. She agreed this task was far more important than your current one. You can spare a few moments to hear me out."

Scarlet was unsure how exactly she should feel – whether to sigh in ephemeral relief or inwardly cringe in fright. Anything Vivaldi would agree to must be horrendous.

Despite her uncertainty in her emotions, Scarlet willingly released the cart from her hands and said, "Alright, sir. What would you like me to do?"

The king's face retained its smile and general joviality as he informed her, "Well, I'd like you to run a delivery for me."

Scarlet perked up in interest. "A delivery run?"

The kind nodded his head. "Tomorrow morning, I would like you to bring a package over to the Mad Hatter."

"Deliver something to the Hatter Estate!" gasped Scarlet in surprise.

"Yes, it won't be a bother, will it? I could always assign this task to another…"

"No, no! It's not a problem! I can do it!" the dark-haired maid cried vehemently, partially fearing she would have to return to her cleaning task. "I just… have never been there personally before. The thought is just a little intimidating. That's all."

'_After all, it is the bloody mafia…_'

Scarlet watched the king in curiosity, seeing the planes of his face soften ever so slightly, the grin on his lips widen. "Well, if it's any consolation, you won't be going there alone. I actually assigned this errand to another, but I thought it would be a good idea to have another person accompanying him."

Scarlet processed the information in her mind and nodded her head. "That sounds perfect. I happily accept the task."

"Are you positive?" The maid's stance remained unwavering, firm as she nodded her head. Such a response seemed to have suddenly placed a weight on the king's lips, dark brows to knit together. "I must warn you. Your companion is a _man_. It's still unsafe for a woman, faceless or not, to be alone with one."

"I appreciate your concern, my king, but I believe I can handle myself just fine."

Still, the King of Hearts continued to frown, examining the young maid in contemplative silence. He took a single step forward. His hand twitched up, but fell lifelessly to his side. All he did was stare.

The maid dared not move, no matter how uncomfortable the current circumstance was. As she looked at the softness of the king's aged face, so gentle and kind, she found enough patience to endure it.

Scarlet jumped when she felt a weight descend onto her shoulder.

"I know you will be," he said in a voice so soft and encouraging, she couldn't help, but feel her clock heart warmed and touched by the sincerity in his words. It was strange for her to feel such a thing. Why would she feel pleased she had his support or encouragement? It didn't truly mean anything. Still, she couldn't help this strange sensation unfurling in her heart...

"Your majesty?" Scarlet took a quick step back, watching as the young Queen of Hearts waltzed towards them, her face cool, collected, and severe. Scarlet lowered her head, allowing her long locks to conceal a fleeting warmth in her face

Why in the world did she feel so embarrassed? She was doing absolutely nothing wrong. They were merely talking, and she honestly lost her will to care how Vivaldi perceived her ages ago. Why did the queen's sudden appearance seem to make her feel so conscious and nervous?

"Your majesty, we still have a meeting you attend. There's much We still need to speak to you about," Vivaldi said, her voice resembling much like honey spilling over jagged ice.

"Yes, I was finishing briefing her about the mission," replied the king, turning his head to face Scarlet once again. "Now tomorrow morning, meet your partner near the entrance of the castle, alright?"

Scarlet nodded her head in affirmation, willing the heat to vanish from her face. The king waved her adieu and began walking off.

Vivaldi didn't follow; the maid sensed her stand firmly in her place, her posture elegant and unmoving. With a nervous swallow, Scarlet slowly turned her head to face her. Their gazes locked, her amethysts so sharp and luminous that they nearly stabbed into her nonexistent ones.

There was only a tense silence, the air charged. Scarlet was half expecting the queen to sentence her to decapitation, not that she knowingly did anything wrong.

Finally, the queen turned around and walked away, leaving behind only one sentence, "Shouldn't you be busy cleaning now?"

At first, this baffled the young maid, wondering whatever the Queen of Hearts meant. Looking down at the cart beside her, everything became clear.

She inwardly groaned. '_Come on! I _still_ have to clean?_'

Without any outward gripes and whines, Scarlet slowly went back to work…

~{o}~

'_Why the heck does Vivaldi hate me so much anyway?_ _I still can't figure it out._' Scarlet mused absently, slowly surfacing from that memory. '_It just doesn't make any sense..._'

Vivaldi's silent animosity was something she grew accustomed to while working there... but it always seemed even more pronounced whenever Scarlet was speaking to the king.

'_That's it. The other maids and soldiers were right. The woman's just insane,_' she deigned with a lazy bob of her head. The young maid casted a brief glance to hallways before allowing everything to fall back into darkness once more.

Just who was her delivery companion going to be? Perhaps one of the card soldiers, Peter? Or was it someone like...

Scarlet shook her head. No, she refused to think it! Think of that abominable name and even of that more abominable person!

'_I'll just continue sitting here patiently... waiting for someone to come..._'

With that last thought, Scarlet felt herself pulled back into a realm of darkness, drowning in her past memories...

~{o}~

"I've done it!"

A young child Scarlet slowly lifted her gaze, seeing an older woman rush into the room, her faceless countenance bright and smiling.

The faceless child tilted her head in curiosity. "What did you do, Myrina?" The woman didn't respond immediately, her eyeless face holding her gaze for a long moment. Scarlet's mouth swung ajar and released a small gasp. "No... you really are going to try and do it?"

Myrina cheerfully nodded her head. "I'm pretty much all set, little sister! I've got enough money, a home already found and picked out." The dark-haired female excitedly took the young girl's hands and began jumping in delight. "Oh you have no idea how long I've waited for this day to come! I promise, Scar, to visit when I can... with my new husband of course."

Scarlet's expression scrunched up, surprised by such a pronouncement. "Oh... so you really _are_ marrying that sickly guy? I thought you were kidding and taking pity on him or something."

"Darian is not that sickly! He's getting a lot better now, and his immune system will be even stronger when we finally leave this place," her elder sister fervently rebuked, arms crossing over her chest.

Scarlet imagined her eyes whirling in a wide, dramatic circle. "Whatever..."

The young woman didn't seem to pay any heed to her younger sister's sarcasm. In fact, Scarlet had never seen her, or any faceless person for that matter, so happy before. Myrina seemed to radiate a certain euphoric light, brightening her face and spreading such a glorious smile on her lips.

Pangs of jealousy clanked against the gears in her own heart. Was anything like that was possible for her? Could she be so genuinely happy, to be with someone she loved with all her heart? Scarlet surely hoped so, but there were always those nagging doubts.

Myrina lifted herself from her joyful daze and looked down at her little sister's face, seeing her elation blend with her depression, excitement mix with envy. Myrina wrapped her arms around her and gently crooned in her ear, "You can do it too, you know. Get out of here. You just need a little patience and an open-mind. Most of all? You have to listen to that heart of yours. Got it memorized?"

Scarlet nodded her head, feeling a warmth blossom in her clock heart when she felt her elder sister press her lips onto her cheek.

"Now, we have to get going, Scar. Mother had just finished dinner, and I'm starving!"

Scarlet nodded her head, taking her sister's hand into hers. The little girl savored the warmth, the gentleness of her sister's touch, relished every second they still had together. Everything felt as if this would be the last time they would be this close, the last time she would ever see her like this. Scarlet would miss her.

And so started the dream, the dream of better things, of places outside of this country they lived in.

...and also the beginning of a nightmare.

~{o}~

"Hello?" A voice attempted to lift her of her sleeping daze, its tone tentative and soft. "Hello?"

Scarlet only rustled once, refusing to escape the comforting darkness. She was still too comfortable in her dreamy state and didn't want to wake from it just yet.

"Hey, hello there! Are you deaf?"

Scarlet jumped, her clock heart ticking in an unnatural pace. Her vision was filled with swirling colors, blotting out the inky darkness. Her eyes then focused on a pair of bright crimson, regarding her form in curiosity.

Anger surged through her veins as she shouted, "What is your problem, knight? I was trying to take a nap!"

"Eh? Why are you yelling at me? How am I supposed to know you were sleeping? I can't tell even if you're awake!" defended Ace, his face even brighter and more cheerful than she last remembered.

A scowl formed over her lips as the young maid mumbled through a yawn, "Ugh, don't remind me..."

Ace knelt down right before her, a teasing grin dancing over his already smiling mouth. "So why's the little maid sleeping in the middle of the hall? Ooh, you're not slacking off are you?"

Irritation simmered her blood, balling the hem of her skirt into her fists. "I was not slacking off, knight. I was just waiting for my partner to come here so we could go on our mission!" Scarlet suddenly relaxed her tense muscles, settling herself against the hard wall. Anger was too tiring an emotion to maintain, especially in her current, lackadaisical state. She groaned, "The guy is taking too long! What he do? Get lost in the castle?"

Ace suddenly laughed and cheerfully said, "Well, what can I say? This castle is pretty big! It's easy to lose one's way."

"Well, that's just you, Ace. No other idiot could possibly..." She then fell completely still, her mind reeling as it evoked a new thought. Her heart suddenly fell deep into her abdomen, slowly dissolving amongst the surrounding acid. "No. You... You're not the one I...?"

His smile seemed to widen considerably as he said with enthusiasm, "Hi, partner!"

Scarlet sunk even lower towards the depths of despair. She inwardly groaned at such an abominable notion, gently knocking her own head against the wall at her own stupidity. How could she not realize it earlier? There were so many hints suggesting the Knight of Hearts. The fact the king wanted an extra person to accompany him should have been a huge indicator. It wasn't for more practical reasons like she thought. He was just worried that the deliverer would get horribly lost.

"Why me?" She grumbled crossly, continuing to punish herself for her ignorance.

There was a loud burst of laughter, stopping her in her self-infliction and escalating her annoyance levels. "Aw, the king never told you? It's because you're my new attendant!"

This had caused every muscle in her body to grow taut. Her mouth fell open. She stammered, "N... new... **attendant**?"

Once this deadly verbal bomb was dropped, she thought she felt herself die a little inside. It was as if her entire was shattered into a hundred thousand pieces, destroying her from the inside out. She forced herself to stare at him, at that annoying, smiling face.

This Heart maid was to attend _him_, a complete and utter waste of role holding flesh and bones? Was this some sort punishment made by the queen? She would have felt insulted if the situation didn't distress her so much.

But Scarlet was not a whiner. The circumstances annoyed her, but she would not whimper or moan. She was a maid of Hearts. Whether she liked it or not, this was now a part of her job… and she certainly detested it at the moment.

Brusquely rising to her feet, Scarlet spoke tersely, "Okay. Fine then, _master_. We should get started then. God, I don't want your stup... _eccentricity_ rubbing off on me."

Ace blinked several times, crimson orbs staring at her. He shrugged his shoulders, rose to his feet, and waltzed towards the door.

'_You can do this, Scar._' The maid took a deep breath. '_You have to try to be–" _Scarlet shuddered_ "–_Nice_ to him._' If she wanted to keep her job, as well as a steady income, she needed to be courteous... well, that was easier said than done.

Her hand instinctively flew to her mouth. A low cough sounded, ripping through her throat in an aching muffled burst.

"Hey, you're not sick are you?" asked Ace, leaning against the doorway.

Scarlet shook her head, tightly clenching her hand into a fist and dropping it to her side. "Yeah... I, uh, just need a drink. You go on ahead. I'll be right behind you."

With a nod of his head, Ace headed out through the door and said, "Good! I wouldn't want to catch whatever contagion you're ailed with!"

Normally, Scarlet would have glared at him, imagining a thousand daggers plunging deep into that irritating back. She had more important things to worry about. She quickly glanced down at her hand... and sighed in relief. Her palm was still a pristine milky white, still pure and clean.

For now.

Scarlet hurriedly rummaged through her knapsack, desperately digging underneath the package and retrieving a tiny bottle, contents clinking as she scrambled to open it. Once its top was untwisted and a large pill fallen into her hand, she quickly popped it into her mouth and forced it down her throat. She gagged once. The sting in her throat was still there, but it bothered her far less than it had before.

'_Alright. Time to get this show on the road._'

With her condition momentarily soothed, knapsack firmly slung over her uniform, Scarlet stepped out of the castle doors and out into the world before her.

~{o}~

The forest that morning seemed so fresh, beautiful, and alive. The overhead foliage was painted with emerald gold, pigments of sea blue rippling in out and out of her vision. Scarlet felt almost enchanted by such divine stillness, the ethereal serenity. Her lungs were filled with the sweet, natural air. It felt like such a long time since she simply walked through this forest. She missed those extraordinary moments of tranquility, savor its exquisite, natural beauty.

She would have enjoyed such rare splendor even more if it wasn't for the man walking beside her.

"Wow, we're here already?" Scarlet cringed at the sound of his voice, his overly cheerful tone that disrupted such perfect placidity. She turned her head towards him, seeing his bright garnet orbs gaping in amazement at the gated structure before him.

She mentally rolled her eyes. "What do you expect? I was the one leading. I certainly would not let you and your directionally challenged mind get us lost." Her tone was indifferent, colder than she intended.

The young man dramatically shivered. "Jeez, you're so mean, Scarlet-chan!"

"If you insist on using my name, please don't use such cutesy honorifics. Better yet, why don't you just not say my name at all!"

"But that's just silly, Scarlet-chan! Why wouldn't I address my attendant by her name?"

Two nerves were struck. A curtain of raven hair draped over her face in order to conceal the tightness in her lips, the nerves rising and thrumming against her temples. Why must this task be so degrading?

'_He's only trying to push my buttons._' Ace was just trying to get a reaction, see how far he could push until he threw her right over the edge. At first, she easily ignored such needling, concentrating on the task at hand. The longer she spent with him made it all progressively more difficult. The impulse to lash out at him grew greater.

'_I need this job,_' she began telling herself, taking in a deep breath. '_I need to be nice to him…_'

Scarlet retrieved the package out of her knapsack, took a single step towards him, and shoved the bag right into his hands.

Ace merely blinked, staring first at the bag then at Scarlet. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Hold it for me. Duh," she answered in a matter-of-factly tone, turning and beginning to walk towards the Hatter gates.

"But why do I have to hold it? You're the maid!"

Scarlet paused for a moment, considering his query in her mind, and turned to answer him, "You're right. I'm just a weak, faceless maid. You, on the other hand, are a big strong, role holding man! You couldn't possibly mind holding that bag for a little while I go make the delivery."

Ace didn't respond, studying that grin on her faceless countenance. He didn't know why it looked so strange, especially with that sweetness in her voice. Then he snapped his fingers in realization. "Ah-hah! That's a smile of malice!"

The maid didn't answer and walked towards the mansion.

She couldn't deny the fact it was an incredible structure. The gates' dark metal bars reflected back the overhead sun, glistening an almost silvery, white light. The walls towered her head, imposing her with its white marble stone. Nothing could make her forget about the chills racing down her spine, her mind reminding her of the horrors that lay within these walls.

'_Now's not good time to be scared._' She swallowed a large lump in her throat, staring at the gates. She turned her head and looked at her surroundings. There wasn't anyone in sight that could let her in. '_And where the heck is Ace?_' No matter where she looked, there wasn't even iota of the red knight. '_Tch. Abandoning me and letting me do all the hard work._'

She harrumphed at the thought and deliberated to find some Hatter servant or something… just as she turned around, two children garbed in red and blue stopped in her tracks.

"Aw… you're not onee-san," the blue one pouted, tapping the metal bar of his axe against his arm.

"We thought onee-san came to visit up," the red one grimaced, sighing in pure disappointment.

'_Onee-san? Who the heck is that?_' But that thought left as quickly as it came, replaced with a new that thought registered in her mind. She recognized those two identical figures instantly.

They were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

'_The Bloody Twins…_'

Tweedle Dee spoke aloud, "What's a maid from Hearts doing here?"

Scarlet swallowed, keeping her voice firm and strong as she spoke, "I came here on behalf of their majesties to deliver a package to sir Blood Dupre. If you two could be so kind as to show me were he is then…"

The glint in their eyes caused her to fall totally still, reminding vaguely of the glimmer of the axes.

"Oh, we promise to give Boss that," Tweedle Dum said, a smile curling on his lips.

Dee had a similar look on his own countenance. "But, we'd like to send the queen a present of our own! Brother, how do you think the royal witch would like a nice corpse on her front door?"

"Oh, I think she would like it very much so! We could even rip out her veins and make it a pretty, red bow!"

"Excellent idea!"

"No, that is _not_ an excellent idea!" The ticking in her chest began to increase rapidly, pounding against her ribcage. Before she could react, long rods of steels appeared from either side of her and prevented her escape, ensnaring her between sharp blades. "U… uh, you two! You don't really want to kill me. I'm just the maid. It's not like my death would accomplish anything."

The metal teeth did not recede. The twins seemed to have an entirely different opinion. They simply laughed. "What are you talking about? You would accomplish a lot of things!"

"Like getting rid of our boredom! We have nothing to do since onee-san isn't here, and nobody came here all day! We have no one to play with."

"So… bye bye!"

Scarlet was nearly frantic. "No! No, bye bye! Come on! Let's play a different game instead, like a card game! I know a few, like Old Maid, Go Fish…"

"Oh, Go Fish! Brother, why not we _go fish_ from some eyeballs? I've always wondered if these faceless people had any."

His twin counterpart fervently nodded his head in agreement.

Scarlet suddenly felt lightheaded, feeling a lack of oxygen affecting her mind and her lungs. Of course she heard rumors of what happened to several those faceless people that so much as stumbled passed the mafia.

Most of them ended up dead.

She allowed her vision to fade away, melt into complete darkness as she waited for the axes to chop her up into a thousand pieces.

Instead of feeling flesh break apart at their hungry blades, she only hear metal clank together.

What in the world…?

"Ah, it's nice to see you're making new friends! People here were always friendly!" Disconcerting chills raced down her spine, her muscles tensing at such a voice. She could recognize it anywhere.

The darkness disappeared from her vision. The blades were only a few inches away from her head. The only thing that stopped them was a long, metal sword.

"A… Ace! W… what are you doing here?" The twins spoke in unison, struggling to keep their voices strong and firm… but evidently failing.

The axes promptly receded. The red knight smiled at the two twins, causing ripples of fear to race down their spine. The twins took a tentative step back. "Ah, I actually got a little lost trying to follow my little attendant here to the mansion. Jeez! You move fast for a scrawny thing!"

Scarlet glared at the young knight, barely restraining herself to smack him right in the head. "You idiot knight, how could you get lost? The gate was right there!"

Ace shrugged his shoulders and released a light laughter, obviously unsure of such a thing himself.

'_I guess it's simply because he's Ace. Ace can get lost no matter the circumstance._'

She snapped herself out of her bubble, finding her gaze attracted to the twins before her. She had heard many stories about the Hatter's subordinates, especially those concerning the Bloody Twins.

Not in any accounts had she ever heard of them looking as scared as they were right now. Such fear was almost uncharacteristic of those ruthless children. They couldn't be possibly scared of the goofy guy near her. In all the time she was forced near his presence, there was nothing that she found terrifying; annoying, yes, but certainly nothing that proved daunting. Was there really more to Ace than what met the eye?

'…_Nah!_'

"Now, maybe you could take this pretty little package, and then we could get back! I'm hungry right now!" Ace said cheerfully and then turning his gaze to the young maid.

He tilted his head in curiosity. It was difficult to ascertain much of her current state, what was going on underneath that dark mop of hers. He did have a very vague idea how she was feeling when he saw the tightness of her lips. "Hey, what's with that face? You know it might stay like that if you keep it up!"

Her tight lips twisted into a scowl. "Idiot, stop goofing around! This is a life or death situation. You should be serious when our lives are in danger, or more so mine!"

Much to her irritation, the knight only laughed. "Ah, you're being so overdramatic! These kids are nothing to be afraid of!" He unconsciously casted his long sword over to the Bloody Twins, both freezing at the pointed edge of the blade. "Everyone's nice here! I guess the only time you need to worry if that March guy comes along, and he's in a pretty bad mood..."

As if on cue, a gunshot exploded into the air, crashing down into the dirt floor.

"Oh... I was wondering why are you brats slacking off and I see that knight here again. How irritating."

Scarlet felt her heart rocket to her throat, body becoming rigid when the shooter came into view. That orange locks and those brown rabbit ears... It was impossible for her not to be able to recognize the Hatter's right hand man, one that struck equal fear into her heart.

'_Elliot March..._'

With his violet semi-automatic pistol in hand, Elliot said, "Why don't you get lost, Ace? You have no business over here!"

"Too late! I already did!" The brown-haired knight released a jovial laugh. "Hey, this is the rabbit I was telling you about! Such a nice bunny. He always tries helping me how to get back to the castle whenever I get lost here."

Another shot was fired directly at their feet.

"How many times must I tell people that I'm not a rabbit!" Elliot spat out, nerves bursting out from his temples. "I don't care why you're here, all I want you guys to do is leave!"

"Aw, the rabbit is getting upset! Want a carrot for your thoughts?" Ace taunted, nonchalantly settling himself behind the young Heart maid, adding another obstacle between him and the livid hare.

"Ace, why not you shut up and leave or else I'll make you," threatened Elliot, gun raised and ready to shoot.

Ace placed a hand on Scarlet's shoulder and said lightly, "Ah, you wouldn't shoot at a young lady! That would be rude."

Scarlet suddenly broke out of her terrified daze when another shot was fired, piercing through the thin fabric of her headdress.

"That's stupid of you to use that maid as your shield," Elliot said. His gun click and ready to fire another round. "I'd just pray that you both die by using one shot."

The young girl gasped in fright, her clock ticking at an even faster pace. Ace merely took on a pensive veneer, considering something in his mind.

He finally spoke up in realization, "Oh, wait... This won't work that well. You're not like Alice. Even if you were dead, he'd still keep trying to shoot me..."

"Idiot, don't even think about using me as a sacrifice!" Scarlet shouted at him in outrage. "Now what do we do?"

Ace was quiet for a moment. "Got a weapon?"

"No," was Scarlet's answer.

"Why not?"

"I believe in nonviolence and chose not to carry around any weapons."

"...Well that's just naïve and stupid. I thought you had more sense than that."

"Why all the ner-" Her words were clipped at her throat when Ace pushed her out of the way of the bullet. With package firmly pressed against her chest, Scarlet raced behind the knight and dodged the incoming rain of bullets.

"Hey, we can leave the territory just yet!" she shouted at him, struggling to keep pace with his brisk speed.

"Why not? You want to be a martyr?" he asked.

"No, but I do have a mission to complete! I need to give this package!" Scarlet ducked, feeling another bullet fly directly over her head.

"Oh, you're worried about that? Ha ha, you're so silly! We'll get it there eventually!"

"Well I don't want to wait for 'eventually'. I want to give it n...!"

A stray root captured Scarlet's foot, dragging her down to the ground. She suddenly found herself falling down a slope, rolling, tumbling down to the unknown. She lost all control, all perception, everything blending together in a dizzying patchwork of leaves and dirt. A pain suddenly registered in her mind when she crashed into a tree, stopping her from rolling any further. She slumped down to the sylvan floor in relief.

Before she could recollect her dizzy mindset, Scarlet heard a subtle crunch of footsteps.

Her luck surely was awful... What would happen to her? Would this be the end?

She curled up into a ball, using what little strength she was able to recover to protect the package.

The steps ceased. Scarlet waited.

Instead of the fire of a gun, the sound of axes slicing through the air, all she heard was a gentle voice. "Hey, are you alright?"

She slowly raised her head to face the owner of the voice. Her body intrinsically relaxed, her eyeless gaze meeting with an equally blank countenance. At that moment, she wasn't sure if she should be relieved or continue being frightened.

"It's alright," the male Hatter servant said, slowly stretching a gloved hand towards her. "I promise not to harm you." The young maid was in total disbelief, staring at the outstretched hand dubiously, waiting for a moment for a gun to be pressed to her temples. Deeming the situation as safe, Scarlet slowly unfurled herself and sat up, accepting his hand.

"Thank you so much! I never expected for a servant from an opposing territory to still be so kind," she said cheerfully, wiping all errant, forest debris from her uniform with her one free hand.

He grinned shyly and replied, "Well we faceless need to look out for each other, no matter where we come form and what the circumstances."

The young maid smiled at such a thought, touched by his kindness. She said happily, "Well, that's great to know! My name's Scarlet."

The young butler remained impeccably still, processing such information in his mind. If he had eyelids, he certainly would have blinked them. He then released a low chuckle, sweeping his body down to a bow. "Its a pleasure to meet you, Scarlet. Butler, at your service."

Scarlet crossed her arms over her chest, hugging the package tightly against her chest. "Hey, that can't be your name. You do have one, don't you?"

He gazed at her for a single moment and chuckled once again. "That name shall suffice for now. I don't mind actually."

The young maid merely nodded her head in acceptance, suddenly finding the young man very strange. What person wouldn't want to be called their name? She understood how the faceless population were usually overlooked and their names were almost considered superfluous. This guy was just plain weird.

"Alright then, _Butler_. Maybe then you can explain to me what's so funny? I don't remember saying anything that's humorous."

"Oh, I didn't mean to laugh! My apologizes," Butler said contritely. "I just found the gesture refreshing. It's nice to hear a faceless's name and to be asked for my own. No one usually cares."  
Scarlet merely nodded her head in understanding, inwardly cursing this horrible, corrupt society they were in. Why must they be subjected to such treatment? They were people just like the role holders and should be treated as such.

Butler soon inquired, "If you don't mind me asking, what is a maid of Hearts doing here in Hatter territory? Are you here with the queen or Prime Minister for business with my master?"

"I came here to deliver a package to your boss... but then I ran into a few complications along the way."

Butler nodded his head, understanding her completely. "Well I am sorry to say that Master Dupre is absent at the moment, but I'd be more than happy to take it and hand it to him when he returns."

The young man watched in surprise as her face suddenly lit up, ecstatic by such a suggestion. "Really?" Butler answered with a slow nod of his head. "Oh my god! Thank you! I was afraid I would have to go back there and everything! You're a lifesaver!"

As Scarlet handed over the package into his gloved hands, her face wide and bright with a jubilant smile, the butler's face colored slightly, dropping his eyeless face down to the package to help conceal the pink of his cheeks.

"N... No problem," he stuttered, hiding it with a quick cough. "But are you sure you're alright? You didn't get hurt in anyway?"

Scarlet shook her head. "Well, I better get going. I still have so much to do at the castle."  
"And I have so much to do at the mansion." Butler lowered his body into a graceful bow. "I hope to see you again, Miss Scarlet."

The Heart maid giggled and responded with a polite curtsy. "Yeah… that'd be nice."

She then ran off and disappeared off into the forest, not at all suspecting that certain man was still watching her walk away, unaware of that warmth that crept up his faceless cheeks or that slowly touched the gears of his heart…

Then again, she had bigger problems that required her undivided attention.

"Hey, there you are!" After a few long moments of trudging through thick underbrush and hiking over long tree roots, the red knight suddenly appeared before her, lips curved in a wide smile. "I was wondering where you ran off to!"

Scarlet replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Oh, nowhere really. I just tripped, rolled, and almost broke my neck. No big deal at all. Who cares that the Hatter subordinates could have found and killed me? I was still able to deliver the package like I wanted so everything's just hunky-dory!"

"Oh… okay. That's good then! This mission was completed a lot faster than I thought it would!" Ace noted positively, seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm in her voice. "But, wasn't that fun? Elliot was always so easy to rile up!"

Scarlet bit her tongue, refusing to add how the March Hare was not the only one riled up at the moment. "Come on. We're leaving."

The young maid was already walking forward before the knight could reply. She was just too distracted to hear him even say anything. If she had a little more perception and wasn't clouded by irritation, she may have noticed the bag still slung over his shoulder.

But Scarlet did not. She was far more occupied by the annoyance in her mind, the ache slowly creeping through her chest…

**

* * *

A/N Notes:** haha, I couldn't help, but put Kingdom Heart's Axel's phrase in there. It was just too good to resist. Got it memorized? xD

Originally, I was going to alternate pov's with Scarlet and Ace... but it seemed better to me to keep Scarlet's pov for this chapter. Oh well. More of Ace's general awesomeness would be more present in the next chappie though.

But a lot is going on in this chapter, like the memory of Scarlet's sister, Myrina, a scene hinting Scarlet's condition… Yep. The gears are turning in ways you guys don't know yet. haha~ :p

Thanks for reading~


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

That maid sure was acting funny lately. Ever since Ace announced that Scarlet was his new attendant, she always had this strained look on her face whenever she was near him, a curt, tense quality in her voice when she spoke to him.

She was trying _way_ too hard to even appear remotely civil and polite whenever he was around. Even he could tell that she was still loathing every wasted second she had to spend with him.

Ace absently wondered why Scarlet seemed to dislike him so much. It was amusing as well as curious. It's not like he knowingly did anything to her.

'_Oh well… now's not the time to worry about that._'

Ace pivoted on the soles of his boots, slashing his long sword right through his assailant's abdomen. The attacker released a last, guttural burst of air before crumpling lifelessly to the forest ground, staining the earth with a bloody crimson. The forest then fell disturbingly still. Ace casted his masked eyes askance, calculating how many of them were left.

From his estimations, the numbers were originally a little over fifteen.

After a few minutes, only two remained. Though the pair was as faceless as the rest of them, he could still feel their obscene abhorrence towards him, their intense desire for that broken clock in his bag.

Ace faced these sorts of occasions countless times, but they never ceased to both amuse and baffle him. Those people always tried to assert their individuality, protect their dead beloved's clocks so they wouldn't be replaced. Such ideology was silly. Why did they try so hard to protect something that was broken? Because of their efforts, they all ended up dead anyway.

As the two shouted their final cry, their last desperate charge to defeat him, Ace lazily swung his sword, cutting through them like flimsy sheets of paper. He then quietly commenced collecting all the fallen clocks and began his trek back to the Tower.

~{o}~

"Oh, Julius, I'm back!" Ace opened the door with a loud slam, disrupting the general silence of the room. He then callously dropped the bag onto the empty space before the blue-haired clock master while he was fixing yet another clock. The sudden reverberation startled him. The gears of the broken clock snapped out of place. Bits and pieces of broken parts flew all over his work area.

Julius released a tired sigh, turning his gaze over to the overflowing bag of clocks.

"Ace, your mission was to collect one clock. Not all of these," said Julius, impassive eyes staring at the knight.

The young man released a low laugh and explained cheerfully, "Well, I ran into some trouble along the way! I just couldn't avoid it."

"Trouble indeed… maybe more for these poor people you ran into than for yourself," Julius muttered stoically, turning his attention to the bursting sack. A blue brow arched upwards, regarding it with sudden curiosity. "Where in the world did you get this? This is nothing like the sack you normally carry it all in."

Such a statement caught the young knight's attention. Ace leant over the small table and carefully scrutinized the knapsack. He blinked once, slowly coming to a conclusion.

"Ha ha! Oops! It seems I forgot to give it back when I had the chance! My bad!" Ace said in realization, rubbing the back of his head.

"Return this to whom?" inquired Julius, slowly taking and examining each clock from the bag.

"To my new attendant!" he supplied cheerfully.

The clock master paused for a single moment, processing the information in his mind.

"Oh dear god… they gave _you_ of all people an attendant? Have mercy on his or her poor soul…" Julius lamented.

"Hey, what do you mean by that?" the red knight asked, feigning an air of offense. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

Julius did not respond immediately and stared at the knight, at that goofy smile, that innocent, good-natured face. He knew him long enough to know to never fall for it. Ace was quite the opposite of innocent.

He instead artfully changed the subject. "So, what's your new attendant like?"

It was a question of pure diplomacy, an inquiry designed to momentarily confuse him. It's not like the blue-haired male expected a response from his helper. He doubted he really knew anything more than the person's existence on this earth.

Ace unexpectedly said, "Well, Scarlet's really moody and can be pretty annoying at times. I guess that's because she doesn't seem to like me very much. I can't understand why though."

"Oh, I wonder… You always struck me as such a likable person," Julius responded with intrinsic sarcasm. Suddenly, he froze in his place, the clock in his hand falling onto the table with a distinctive clatter. He paused for a brief moment, repeating Ace's words in his mind. "Wait… who's Scarlet?"

"My new attendant!" Ace replied. "You're a smart guy, Julius. I thought _that_ was obvious."

"How did you find out the faceless girl's name?"

"The king told me!"

"And you actually bothered to _remember_ it?"

"What's so strange about that?"

The clock master sat back into his seat, studying the innocent planes of his face, the confusion in his eyes. Julius merely replied, "It's simply natural for role holders in the territories to not be well acquainted with their faceless servants, let alone be aware of their names. It's rather… odd to say the least."

"I think it's just a temporary thing!" said Ace, a smile still on his lips. "It's probably just because she's new to the castle. It'll grow old after awhile. You'd probably find her interesting though. You should meet her!"

"Yes… I'd like that very much." Julius fell into a pensive silence, methodically returning to each clock in the sack.

Ace couldn't understand why he was in such a meditative disposition. What he said wasn't that surprising or strange… to him at least.

"Huh. Interesting." Ace snapped himself out of his absent musings and turned towards Julius, watching him examine a strange object in between his fingers.

With his head tilting to an inquisitive incline, the Heart Knight asked, "Hey… what's that?"

"It looks like… a medicine bottle," noted Julius aloud, turning the small cylinder in between his lithe fingers. "Are you sure this bag belongs to your new attendant? I always thought servants were required to be in top physical condition and health."

Ace floated over to the clock master's side, gawking at the bottle. "Huh… I thought so too…"

He then came to a powerful realization. He before dismissed some aspects of her behavior as just plain weird, like her sudden bursts of coughs when she thought wasn't paying attention, her sudden, urgent departures sometimes then afterwards…

Then the answer became decidedly clear. Even he was able to figure it out.

"I suggest finding the owner of both of these items as soon as you can. I know he or she would be looking quite frantically for these," Julius said, dropping the pill bottle back inside empty bag. "Now onto business. Here's a new list of places I need you to visit."

Ace swung the bag over his shoulder and accepted the paper, skimming through the list with curious eyes. He then smiled and said, "Alright, Julius! I'll get it done! See ya!"

With a quick, airy wave of his hand, the brown-haired knight made his way out the doorway and into the halls.

"Wonder why I keep doing this to myself…" the knight suddenly found himself wondering, continuing absently through the twisting halls. This job was supposed to be his key towards salvation, but everything remained the exact same thing. Nothing had changed. He even wasn't any different ever since he started. Why trouble himself like this?

Ace then released a low laugh, realizing he had made a wrong turn and was now facing a dead end.

…Maybe it was because Ace didn't know how else to live.

~{o}~

Meanwhile, a certain maid was going completely _mental_. It was as if she lost all her sanity in a matter of seconds as she tore through the small space she called her room. Every possible piece of furniture was flipped over, every square inch torn asunder and lay completely bare. She attempted everything possible to find one specific item.

"And if I don't… gah! I'll actually die!"

At the disconcerting thought, a violent cough ripped through her throat, aching her chest.

How could Scarlet possibly lose her medicine, her most valuable possession? If she didn't find it anytime soon… Vivaldi would certainly see her and toss her right out, whether she was alive or a decapitated corpse.

Just where in the world could she have put it? Last place she remembered was putting it in her bag...

Scarlet paused for a moment, repeating the thought once more and letting it roll off her tongue. "My bag."

Realization struck her like a lightning bolt. Scarlet stood perfectly straight as her brain whispered the answer.

"Oh my god! That idiot knight still has my bag!"

Quickly turning on her heels, Scarlet stormed out her room and fumed as she stalked through the halls for a certain directionally challenged man.

'_Oh wait until I get my hands on him… he's dead. I'm going. I'm going to make sure of that!_'

That is… if her condition doesn't kill her first.

"Oh, Mary Anne! How I'm so glad to see you!" the young girl shouted once she saw her maid friend.

The one she called Mary Anne jumped, spinning her herself around to face her.

"Oh, Scarlet! I told you that you don't have to call me by my name! It greatly embarrasses me," the faceless woman chastised Scarlet, placing her hands right over her hips.

"But why not? If I called out maid or something how will I get your attention?" asked Scarlet, tilting her head in confusion.

Mary Anne opened her mouth to further chide her, remind her of the ways their society works, but instead sighed. "Alright. What do you need, Scarlet-chan? Did her majesty overload you again?"

"Happily, no, but this is far more pressing!" she proclaimed, attaining the maid's undivided attention. "Have you seen Ace around?"

"Why no, I haven't. He has yet to return to the castle." Her brow soon rose in question. "Aren't you his attendant now? Shouldn't you have better watch over him?"

"What am I? His mother? He can jump off a cliff for all I care!"

"But why are you asking me for Master Ace's whereabouts then?"

"The missing idiot has something of mine, and I want it back," Scarlet replied simply, pausing for a considerable moment. She then marched forward and announced, "I'll be back."

"Oh, you're not really going out to go look for him, are you?" Mary Anne called out.

The young maid replied with a glib, "Yep."

"But what about your work?"

"You can cover for me, can't you? I won't be very long!"

Before the young maid could offer a reply, Scarlet smiled, promptly disappeared from sight, and stepped out through door.

Thus beginning her great search. Hours passed by, and daylight was quickly waning

Not like it mattered at the moment how much time was passing. If she did not get her medicine from him soon, it wouldn't matter if she was stuck in the dark. Just who knew what would happen to her or how much time she still had? Maybe it was already too late.

'_But I am no quitter. I'm not giving up that easily. I'm going to hunt him down like the dog he is._'

With renewed resolve, she continued her search with increased fervor, storming through the brush and ducking underneath low, leafy boughs. By some stroke of glorious luck, Scarlet finally found him… or at least she though she did.

She was almost certain it was him - the way he held himself, his messy brown hair, that familiar looking sword... but in place of his red overcoat was a long, brown cloak, a silvery mask placed where is eyes were.

Surrounding him were several faceless people, approximately ten to be exact.

Was that really Ace? If not, then just who was this masked man? How could he even think of surviving when he was so heavily outnumbered? His death was almost certain.

Then Scarlet shivered when a smile curled at the masked man's lips, watching as the mob charged straight towards him.

Then the unexpected happened. Scarlet watched in silent horror as the masked man easily combated his assailants, slicing through the men as if they were flimsy pieces of paper. Limbs were separated from bodies, flying in all sorts of erratic directions. Blood splattered and created a bitter, iron rain.

In a matter of a few, terrifying minutes, that single man had killed all ten men.

Scarlet released a silent gasp, crouching behind the protective cover of trees and brush. Her chest hammered against her aching chest, and her breathing threatened to be even more erratic.

She had heard rumors of this sort of person, a demon assisting the recluse mortician in clock collection... but never in her life did she expect that person to be a role holder.

'_No… no, I can't believe it. It cant really be him… can it?_'

Never did Scarlet think it would be someone like Ace.

Taking an even breath of air and filling her aching lungs, Scarlet peeked out once again.

Ace waited patiently for each body to fade away and disappear before he retrieved the broken clock and plopped it into his bag.

One person did manage to survive… or tried to at the very least. One faceless figure struggled to crawl away, leaving behind a scarlet trail as he attempted to reach the protective, leafy haven.

Soon his movements ceased. The person lay lifelessly down on the ground, struck by eternal sleep. The person's figure soon was overshadowed, fading into an inky blackness. All that was left in their place was a single, broken clock.

Her hand flew to her mouth to quiet the coughs that flew from her lips. Scarlet's stomach twisted violently as she tried to suppress this sudden, gagging sensation.

She didn't even understand this strange feeling. Why was she reacting like this and towards someone that was a complete stranger?

Despite the implausibility, this untenable emotion, watching this person just die and disappear struck a nerve she wasn't even aware she had.

She glanced back to the scene. The masked swordsman had already disappeared from the vicinity, unaware that a single clock remained. With a quick swallow, Scarlet rose to her feet and edged closer to the clock. She paused for a decided moment before she finally knelt down beside it. Her fingers twitched forward, slowly edging forward to touch the small, broken item... when it was suddenly snatched right out of her reach.

She immediately jumped back, creating as much space she possibly could. Her whole body froze, her eyeless gaze meeting the creature's even vacant countenance. It was like a mere, incorporeal shadow, a ghost constructed of wisps of black smoke.

It took Scarlet a few long moments to realize that she was staring straight into an afterimage. She had heard of these ghostly apparitions, knew of their purpose and what exactly they were. She was not that ignorant. Never in her life had she seen one face to faceless face.

'_W… why do I feel like this?_' Her whole body felt cold, frozen droplets of sweat clinging to the hair to the nape of her neck. Her clock heart nearly stopped ticking in her chest. She could barely breathe. Even though she had never seen an afterimage before, there was no reason for her to be this scared… but, despite that, she was still completely terrified at the moment.

The single afterimage seemed to stare at her with an air she thought resembled curiosity. The clock remained clutched in its grasp.

She inhaled sharply, watching as the shadow floated closer to her, tendrils of black smoke stretching forward towards her…

Despite the ache in her throat, the very pain in her chest, Scarlet screamed and ran away.

~{o}~

Once the Heart maid finally returned to the castle, she felt completely dead inside. She straggled through the halls, trying to dismiss everything – the growing dizziness, the intensifying pain, the coppery taste at the back of her throat…

It was obvious Scarlet needed her medicine stat. She was just not quite ready to see him yet and would much rather delay that encounter as long as she could.

'_I can just deal with him tomorrow,_' Scarlet mentally deliberated, absently rambling her way through the silent castle. '_I'm sure I'll survive the rest of this day…_'

Scarlet was so consumed in her inner turmoil that she walked straight into a hard surface, a body she quickly corrected herself.

Quickly recollecting herself to a state of some health and poise, she said quickly, "I'm sorry for bumping into you! I wasn't paying any atten…?"

At that precise moment, all words failed her. Lo and behold, the one person Scarlet certainly did not want to see appeared directly before her!

"Apology accepted," Ace said cheerfully, silvery mask in hand and still garbed in his bloody cloak.

Scarlet swallowed back a large lump in her throat. '_**Crap.**_'

"But, boy! Am I glad to see you! I got lost going to my room! Maybe you can help direct me there?" Ace's cheerful expression melted to that of curiosity, surprised to see her speechless, stupefied even. "What's wrong with you? Is there something on my face?" As he raised his gloved hand to wipe his face, his eyes were attracted to his mask. Ace then dropped his gaze to examine the rest of his attire. Ace threw his head back, releasing a light-hearted laugh. "Uh-oh… you're not supposed to see me like this! Did the little maid see anything else she's not supposed to see?"

Scarlet's gaze descended as she allowed herself a low cough, swallowing back something warm and bitter. She didn't have enough breath to utter a proper response.

Ace smiled widened, finding her silence enough answer.

Scarlet gasped when she was suddenly pushed back into the wall, falling very still when a blade was pointed towards her direction.

"I'm not sure how much you saw, but you know I can't allow you to live." Scarlet kept her poise, refusing to allow herself to be unnerved by that dark smile on his face, the almost dark gleam in his eyes.

Was this really Ace? The annoying big oaf she was forced to serve? She never expected him capable of looking so dark… and dangerous.

Raising his sword to her throat, the knight wondered aloud, "I wonder where would be the best place to kill you… perhaps a beheading or a slit of your throat? No, that's far too messy. I don't want to follow the queen's example… Oh! I know!" She willed herself to remain still when Ace lowered his blade near her heart. "Maybe I should just do it the easy way and thrust my sword through your chest? Ah, decisions… decisions…"

"They why don't you just save yourself some brain cells and just kill me already? Isn't it normal for you role holders to just kill faceless people like me? You guys never feel remorse, no regret, and absolutely no hesitation. We faceless are so expendable to you stupid people."

"Ah! So that's you deal! Is that why you hate me? Because I'm a role holder?" Ace asked.  
Scarlet was silent for a long moment, her stance defiant and strong. She then replied evenly, "I don't need to explain myself to you of all people, knight."

She winced feeling the blade dig in, piercing through her uniform and touching her flesh.

"Ha ha ha! Ah, I don't think you're in the position to refuse anything," Ace reminded her, pulling out something form within his cloak. "Especially… when I have something you need."

Her mouth dropped in surprise. "My medici…!" A cough tore through her throat, interrupting her sentence.

"I found it in your bag. I forgot to give it back that one time! Now, here's my next question. Why do you even need it? Are you sick?" Scarlet fell into silence, refusing to utter a single word. "Fine. Perhaps I'll just let you live and tell Vivaldi about this all important discovery. I could let her deal with you however she sees fit."

"No, please! You can't! I need..." Scarlet whirled into another violent coughing fit, echoing against the stillness of the hallway.

Soon Ace's eyes widened, surprised to see something roll down her mouth, splatter against the steel of his blade: **blood**.

Scarlet slowly heaved a labored breath of air, struggling to recover from her outburst. A finger gently touched the warm corners of her lips, bringing the sticky liquid up to her eyes.

Scarlet released a bitter laugh. "Looks like the cat's out of the bag. There's little use hiding it now." She took a single inhale, replenishing her empty lungs with oxygen. "It must be difficult to fathom we faceless do get sick or ill, but I assure you, we do. I have hemoptysis."

"Hemo... Huh?"

"Hemoptysis, you fool," Scarlet rasped, suppressing another rousing cough. "I need that medicine before I get even worse. It helps repress symptoms such as me coughing out blood. It's the only way I can possibly survive this hellhole. I just really need this job."

Ace asked, "But why do you need this job so much?"

Before Scarlet could respond, another cough tore through her throat, coming out in a more violent burst. She nearly buckled over, hands clamped over her mouth, her vision growing blurry and hazy. Everything slowly began to spin, her surroundings blurring and growing darker. She barely felt the sword near her chest.

She instead saw the sword pointed towards someone else.

It was probably her ailment making her delusional, the destructive result of going without her medicine for such a prolonged period of time. Still, Scarlet couldn't deny what she saw.

The scene was dark, shrouded by shadows and haze. All she could perceive were three figures, unable recognize their individual appearances or faces. One girl stood protectively before one with a bloody sword. Behind was a young woman, crouched down onto the floor. The swordsman's mouth smiled and moved, forming words Scarlet failed to understand. Soon the blade pulled back, thrusting forward towards the girl's chest.

The next scene went far too fast for Scarlet to recognize. It all proceeded in one huge, bloody blur. She did notice that the sword didn't touch the girl.

It had instead plunged deep into the third person's chest, the woman the girl was trying to protect.

Both the attacker and the girl were rendered into a state of relative shock and surprise, staring the young woman skewered in the man's blade.

The sword receded. The woman collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.

While the young man briefly surveyed his surroundings, searching for any further hindrances, the young girl drew closer and hovered over the dead body, long tendrils cascading down to conceal her face. All the girl and Scarlet could do was stare.

Why was she seeing this? Why did she feel an even greater ache in her chest just watching this? Why did she feel as if she shared in the exact same pain? None of it made any sense. At the moment, logic seemed furthest from her mind and completely out of her reach.

Just as she saw something glittering drip down onto the bloody floor, the female bystander was suddenly jerked back to reality. Something small yet hard hit her squarely in the forehead, falling onto the castle floor with a resounding plunk.

Scarlet merely gawked at her medicine bottle in confusion, slowly remembering her current surroundings and who exactly she was with at the moment. Her eyeless gaze transcended to see Ace sheathing his sword with a customary smile on his face. She raised an inquiring brow, so sure that the knight was going to tear her to shreds. Why the sudden benevolence?

"I decided to let you live! You're my attendant and still rather useful to me," Ace answered her cheerfully as if reading her thoughts. "I just expect you to agree to a little condition or two."

Scarlet scooped her fallen bottle from the ground and uncapped it, asking, "What?"

Ace grinned a little wider. "I just expect you to keep my extracurricular activities a secret... or else."

"Fine," The Heart maid agreed glibly and quickly swallowed the pill. "I accept those terms."

"Wait a moment! I'm not done just yet. There's still one more issue I'd like to address!" Much too tired for her usual sarcasm and curtness, Scarlet stood there in a semblance of patience and waited for the knight to continue. "...Stop trying to pretend to be nice to me! As amusing as it is to watch you strain yourself, it isn't necessary. Even if you are my attendant, you don't have to make everything so boring with that fake courtesy!"

Scarlet winced, realizing her attempts at civility had failed. Nonetheless, she released an ethereal relief. "Thank goodness... Now that is taking care of, I'm going to my room. I'm simply exhausted!"

"But what about my other questions? Aren't you going to answer them?" Ace asked, calling out to her retreating form.

All Ace could hear was a loud snort. "Why should I? Not like you really care or anything. Now that I don't have to pretend to act remotely civil to you and tolerate your presence, there's no way in hell I'd answer!"

With those eloquent last words, Scarlet disappeared off into the darkness and left Ace all by his very lonesome.

For a few moments, the Knight of Hearts simply stood there in silent consideration, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "Huh... She's a weird chick."

Still now, there were so many questions left unanswered, so many things about that simple faceless girl that continued to baffle him.

'_I wonder... Does she really hate me because of my role... or does her__dislike stem deeper than that?_'

As he turned on his heel to walk away, Ace only figured he'd find the answer to all his questions in time... even if it means breaking her down to do it.

* * *

**A/N Notes:** You all should blame a plot bunny for me suddenly naming a maid Mary Anne. Grr… curse you plot bunnies!

Bleh, but my brain was mush whilst writing this. I hope its okay despite the fact I'm not very satisfied with the outcome. I may edit it in the future... when I feel like it which may be never. :p

All I can say is thanks for reading! Reviews and other feedback would be greatly appreciated!


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